Planning for the future: Save as soon as there is money spare

Laila Binbrek believes the New Year is the perfect time to start planning for her future. Pawan Singh / The National

Laila Binbrek believes the New Year is the perfect time to start planning for her future and her focus for 2017 is saving for her retirement.

“You cannot just live for the here and now,” says Ms Binbrek, the coordinating director at the National Pavilion UAE in La Biennale di Venezia, a global arts festival, adding that the art to saving a big enough pension pot is to begin early.

“Everybody should save as soon as they have money to spare. Whether you want to buy a home in the Caribbean or simply have enough money for your old age, the sooner you start the better.”

Ms Binbrek grew up in Saudi Arabia and the UK before moving back to Canada to complete her degree in fine arts. In 2006 she moved to Dubai where she worked as a gallery director for The Third Line.

“I had a pension scheme in Canada and my own savings plan on top of that, but when you live in the UAE you have to be responsible for all your own pension planning.”

Consequently, she has been talking through her financial goals with a financial adviser from her bank, HSBC. “My HSBC adviser has helped articulate my short and long-term financial goals, and develop a plan for the future. He has also looked at how much I can realistically save each month. If you plan carefully, you can still enjoy your life, while putting aside more than you think.”

Ms Binbrek has some money in a savings account with HSBC, plus a spread of mutual funds for longer-term stock market growth.

But with a brother and sister in Toronto, she wants to save enough for a small apartment over there. “It would be great to have something tangible in my home country. I don’t know where I will be retiring, I would happily stay in the UAE for as long as I can but need enough pension to do so. So I need to plan for every possibility.”

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